I have a friend who swears that drinking water and walking is the key to optimal health. He walks 50 miles a week and is in great shape. I have another friend who does CrossFit four times a week and claims his Paleo eating plan is the best way to stay fit. He too has the physique to prove it. I have yet another friend who claims that eating a purely vegan diet and … [Read more...]
3 By-Law Changes Needed To Break 100, 200, 400 and 600
There are a number of factors that contribute to a church’s inability to grow beyond the 100, 200, 400 and 600 barriers. The last place anyone looks when diagnosing the problem is the first place I go: the church’s by-laws. I want to know whether or not the church is organizationally structured to facilitate growth. Usually they’re not. Leaders in these churches try lots of … [Read more...]
10 Steps to Rebrand Your Church
If you haven’t rebranded your church in the last five years, your ministry is dated. Rebranding is one of the most worthwhile investments you can make in 2018 to increase your effectiveness in reaching people far from God. Rebranding is much more than creating a new logo – it involves identifying who you’re trying to reach, positioning them as the hero in your church’s … [Read more...]
Why You Should Make A “To NOT Do” List
Bob Goff says he makes it a habit to quit something every Thursday. I think Senior Pastors would benefit from doing this annually. There are two things I know for certain about people like you and me: We routinely do things that self-sabotage our health, emotional well-being, and ministry effectiveness. We know these things exist, but don’t address them, because we refuse … [Read more...]
How to Grow From 1,000 to 5,000
Over the past few years, I've had the opportunity to seek the advice of six gifted Senior Pastors who have led their churches from 1,000 to 5,000 in growth. Since we are pushing the 2,000 barrier and believe God wants us to impact our region by growing to 5,000+, I sought out leaders who have done what we feel called to do. I always encourage the Senior Pastors I coach to … [Read more...]
A Series Of Bold Moves
At some point – after having worked through everything you need to work through – the only way to break through your next attendance barrier is to commit yourself to what I call “a series of bold moves.” The good news is the “bold moves” I’m talking about are almost always the same for each attendance barrier. Meaning, if you can’t break the 200 barrier or the 2,000 barrier, … [Read more...]
Inside The Mind Of A Disgruntled Church Member
Think of the name of a person who recently told you they’re unhappy and thinking about leaving your church. Would you believe me if I told you that that person is not an outlier? What if I told you that that person kicking up dust, threatening to leave, folding their arms in services, talking behind your back, etc., is actually following a well-established pattern of … [Read more...]
The Demise Of U2 And The Lesson For Senior Pastors
U2 just released the lead single off their upcoming album Songs of Experience (due December 1, 2017), and if the album is anything like the single, it’s going to be simply terrible. Just as bad as the album before it, Songs of Innocence, released in 2014. And just as bad as the album before that one, No Line on the Horizon, released in 2009. Not since 2004, when the … [Read more...]
Are You A LEADER (who has to preach) or A PREACHER (who has to lead)?
I want you to be brutally honest with yourself, because how you answer this simple question should determine the focus of your remaining years in ministry. Are you someone who loves to lead, but has to preach? Or are you someone who loves to preach, but has to lead? There is no right or wrong answer. Are You a Leader or a Preacher? There are Senior Pastors who LOVE … [Read more...]
What To Do When You Lose Confidence In Yourself
Notice I did not say IF you lose confidence in yourself. I said WHEN you lose confidence in yourself. It’s going to happen. You WILL lose confidence in yourself. Multiple times over the years in fact. It is not a matter of IF but WHEN. The question is why? In my experience, Senior Pastors lose confidence in themselves when they are unable to lead their congregations … [Read more...]
The High Price Of Inaction
I guarantee there's a decision you've been putting off that if you postpone it any longer, it is going to cost you dearly. How do I know this? Because I have an earned doctorate from Harvard in the science of “I’m so stressed right now and have so many things coming at me and I’m kinda afraid of the potential backlash so I’m going to choose to put _______, ______, _____, … [Read more...]
Five Changes Worth Making
This week I received an encouraging email from a friend I coached last year. For those of you serving churches 200 and under, I thought you would appreciate his perspective on the five changes he’s made in his church and life that made the greatest impact. Here’s what he sent me (with my comments): Five Changes Any Senior Pastor Should Make Hey man, hope you’re well. … [Read more...]
The “Close To The Pastor Syndrome”
One of the primary reasons churches under 1,000 fail to grow is their Senior Pastors have never called into question, then systematically dismantled, the "close to the pastor syndrome" in their churches. The “close to the pastor syndrome” is a wonky dynamic where long-time members feel that for "the church to feel like church" they need open, unfettered access to their … [Read more...]
4x4x4 Coaching Process: The Key To Helping Staff Lead At The Next Level
I’ve never met a Senior Pastor who didn’t have the ability to do an outstanding job leading their staff, but I have met quite a few who didn’t have a clear plan in place for making that happen. I would like to share with you a very simple framework for coaching your staff that will make your job, and theirs, much easier. I call it 4x4x4. A 4x4x4 coaching process is when a … [Read more...]
The Passion Myth (or, what Senior Pastors can learn from artisans)
If you feel like you’ve lost your passion for ministry and can’t seem to regain the excitement and motivation you felt in earlier years, that’s a very good thing. Where in the Bible do we see any of the early church leaders praying to “get their passion back?” The idea that “passion for the ministry” is an indispensable requirement for long-term effectiveness is a lie the … [Read more...]
How Senior Pastors Can Schedule Their Week For Maximum Impact
One of the first things I do when I begin coaching a Senior Pastor is lead them through a process of redesigning how they schedule their week to ensure their highest ministry priorities get consistently accomplished. It is the same process whether they serve churches of 50 to 5,000. Here’s what that process looks like: Draw A Weekly Calendar The first thing I have … [Read more...]
50 Limiting Beliefs That Hold Senior Pastors Back
It's the time of year when many of us in ministry are thinking about how we can improve ourselves and our ministries in the coming year. Here’s a list of fifty of the most common limiting beliefs that hold Senior Pastors back from leading at their full potential. See if you can recognize some of these in how you view yourself and the church you lead. 50 Limiting Beliefs … [Read more...]
5 Reasons Churches Don’t Break The 400 Barrier
If your church has been running in the 290 to 490 attendance range for more than five years, you are stuck at the 400 barrier. In my experience, more Senior Pastors reach out for help at this size range than any other. That's because the complexity of issues they get hit with at this size are fundamentally different than what had to be addressed to break the 100 and 200 … [Read more...]
Please Take My 2016 Reader Survey
Hey friends - If you’re a reader of my Senior Pastor Central articles - can you take 60 seconds and answer five quick questions for my 2016 Reader Survey? Your answers will help me understand more fully the issues you face that I can help you with. This survey is now closed. Thank you for taking the survey! Brian … [Read more...]
What To Do When Facing A Massive Budget Shortfall
In the past few weeks, I've lost count of how many Senior Pastors I've talked to whose churches are hemorrhaging financially. Dealing with a massive budget shortfall is something every Senior Pastor will face sooner than later. Churches get into this situation when a combination of the following five factors are in play: Common sense budgeting, forecasting, and … [Read more...]
